EP-A 0 294 604 describes a circuit arrangement for the purpose of operating a vehicle headlight high-pressure discharge lamp having a sinusoidal AC voltage. The circuit arrangement comprises a series resonant circuit which generates a sinusoidal AC voltage having a frequency of 45 kilohertz and an amplitude of up to 18 000 volts for the purpose of starting the gas discharge in the high-pressure discharge lamp at the resonant capacitor by means of the resonant peak method, and this sinusoidal AC voltage starts the lamp within a time span of 6 milliseconds.